Ball cock



C. G. MACKIE July 2o, 196s BALL COCK 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 1, 1963 July 20,1965 c. G. MACKlE 3,195,555

BALL COCK Filed July 1, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 2- #fiar/Ma;

July 2o, 196s Filed July 1, 1963 C. G. MACKIE BALL COCK 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 if) if) if) f [g5 f J l 5 I. y n i4 7j I 73 7i Ki l z i fa INVENTOR United States Patent O 3,195,565 BALL COCK Charles G. Mackie, Glen Ellyn, lll., assigner to Standard Screw Company, Bellwood, Ill., a `corporation of New Jersey Filed July l, 1963, Ser. No. 291,848 6 Claims. (Cl. 137-414) This invention relates to a method and structure for filling liquid receptacles, and specifically to a ball cock for use with a water closet liush tank.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention is to provide a ball cock which provides full water liow up to the very last moment of filling, thereby achieving tilling of the tank in the shortest possible time.

Another object is a ball cock assembly which does not require special linkages, hinges or arms or moving parts other than a simple float.

Another object is a ball cock assembly and method which permits the flush tank to be filled silently.

Another object is a ball cock assembly which quickly shuts water off when a predetermined level is attained so that objectionable noises do not occur, and it avoids Wire drawing and reduced seat destruction.

Another object is a ball cock assembly having a replacement cartridge unit in which are contained liquid chambers and passageways, whereby such cartridge unit may be quickly and simply removed and replaced. This unit also provides anti-syphon or vacuum breaker action.

These objects are attained, along with other objects which will' become apparent from reading the specification and claims, by the invention which will be described in detail and which is shown in the accompanying drawings.

In the specitication and claims, the word receptacle occurs occasionally. This word, when used, refers to the flush tank itself within which the ball cock assembly is mounted.

FIGURE 1 is an elevational side view partly in section and partly diagrammatic of the ball cock valve in a ush tank;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of the view of FlG- URE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an elevational View in section showing the valve member in the ball cock valve;

FiGURE 4 is a side elevational view in section showing the valve in the closed position;

FIGURE 5 is a'side elevational view in section showing the Valve in the open position and with liquid lowing;

FGURE 6 is a plan View taken generally at line 6 6 of FGURE 4;

FIGURE 7 is a view along line 6 6 of FlGURE l;

FGURE 8 is a side elevational View in section of another embodiment;

FIGURE 9 is a side elevational view in section of still another embodiment;

FIGURE 10 is a side elevational view in section of still another embodiment;

FIGURE 11 is a side elevational view in section of an adjustable iioat; and

FGURE 12 is a side elevational View in section of another adjustable tioat.

The use of the same numerals in the various views will refer to the same structures, elements and concepts.

Referring to FIGURES l and 2, there is seen a receptacle or iiush tank l0 from which outlet l2 extends. An inlet 14 is connected to a ball cock shown generally as 18 by a coupling nut or the like 2i! engaging threaded end 16. The ball cock is shown connected to the base of the receptacle by means such as flange Z4 positioning a tapered elastomeric gasket 26 in aperture 22, and using "ice a nut 28 on the other side of the aperture to make a secure lock.

The ball cock includes a counterflow conduit assembly which has an inner uptlow conduit or tube 30 and an outer concentric downflow conduit or tube 32. The outer tube is urged against the assembly shown generally as 34 by coil spring or the like 3d. A iloat shown generally as 38 is positioned on the outer tube to freely ride up and down in accordance with the level of the liquid 41 in the receptacle. A relill tube 40 is shown extending from the cap assembly to an overiiow tube or pipe 42. A flush handle 44 is adapted to actuate ilush ball 46 through a lift lever 4S and connecting links such as 50, "51. The liush ball will be lifted from seat 52 to open port S4 and thereby iiush liquid through the port 5d and outlet pipe 12 projecting from the receptacle.

Turning to FIGURE 3, the iloat 38 as seen as a hollow structure having a continuous outer wall 5e spaced from a continuous inner wall 53 which is closely positioned to the outer conduit 32 which guides the float in its up and down movement. The inner and outer walls may be open at the bottom to permit entry of the liquid but are connected at the upper ends by means such as a solid wall @il to provide an air chamber and rigidity. An annular drain tube seal d2 is fixed to the top of the float.

The cap assembly is shown here as having an outer cap ed and a base 66. The base is secured Ito the top of the liquid upiiow tube by means such as engaging threads The base may be offset at tl to receive the end of the outer or downiiow tube which is urged against the base by the coil spring 36. The base is heid within the outer cap by means such as a snap ring 72. The base has downtlow passages such as '73, '73 communicating with the downilow outlet of the outer tube, as indicated by the arrows. The base may also have passageways 76 communicating with the receptacle. A passageway '78 communicates with and receives the rei-ill tube 40. The base may have a raised portion or valve seat Si) which may be an extension of the upstream tube.

The base and outer cap form a chamber therebetween which is divided into an upper or pressure chamber 82 and a lower flow chamber 84 by a diaphragm 86 which is held securely along its periphery between the base and the outer cap. The diaphragm has a passageway or aperture of reduced diameter S8 which communicates with the upper and lower chambers. A vacuum breaker or anti-syphon diaphragm 9u may also be positioned between the base and the outer cap. Such a breaker diaphragm may be in the shape of an annular band which may be moved by `the flowing liquid to close passageways such as 76 which communicate with the interior of the ilush tank.

The outer cap is seen to have a lateral drain passageway 92 and a connecting vertical drain passageway 94 joined to a drain tube 96. The drain passageways and drain tube communicate the upper chamber with the interior of the liquid receptacle.

Upwardiy lowing liquid will move through the inner tube and empty into the lower chamber S4 of the cap assembly. From there it will pass through the downow passageways '73, '73 in the oase `and into the outer tube where it will empty into the receptacle. This route is indicated by the arrows in FIGURES 2, 4 and 5. The pressure of the upwardly tlowing liquid will fully unseat the diaphragm. If a vacuum breaker is present, the owing liquid will also move the vacuum breaker into the FIG- URE 5 position so that it seals oif the passageways 76 communicating with the interior of the receptacle.

A small portion of the upwardly iiowing liquid will pass through the aperture 38 into the upper or pressure closing chamber. This liquid will be bled or allowed to mulate in the upper rchamber and the resulting pressure -will buildup until it isV grea-ter than the pressure of the upstream-liquid, yThis will cause the diaphragm to move onto the raised portion or valve seat of the base and the flow of liquid will be stopped. Thiscondition is depicted in FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 8 shows another embodiment in which an inner upflow conduit 98 is connected by threads 18) to a base 102. A lower ilow chamber 104 in the base is separated from an upper closing chamber 106 by diaphragm 108 held between the base and outer cap 110 by threads or the like 112. The diaphragm has an aperture of reduced Y diameter 114 which'is shown formed by a rigid inert or grommet 116. c v

Upilowing liquid empties from the lower chamber 104 to communicating passageways 118 which lead to downflow conduit 120. Vacuum breakers such as 121 are xed between the base and the wall of the downow conduit and are adapted to be moved against .aperture 122'in response to owing liquid to close off communication with the interior of the receptacle. Other forms of vacuum breakers may be used if desired. A drain` tube 124, communicating with the upper chamber, is seen closed by the drain tube kseal 123. f Another embodiment is shown in FIGURE'9'wherein `the inner upflow conduit 126 is shown again directly connected to the base 128 by means such as engaging threads 130. The chamber 131 between the base and the outer cap 132 is separated by a diaphragm 134 whichisY securely xed valong its periphery by a continuous ridge in the outer cap engaging a continuous groove in the diaphragm as at 136. The upper chamber 137 is connected with lthe exterior by drain passageway 138 and drain tube 140. The vacuum breaker 142 is shown closing the apertures 144. FIGURE 9 is intended to illustrate the ball cock just upon closing of the drain tube before pressure buildup in the pressure closing member 137 moves the diaphragm onto the seat 146 of the base.

FIGURE l shows still another embodiment wherein a piston element 148 is in iluid tight engagement with outer cap 150 by a continuous O-ring152.v An elastomeric sealing member such as a gasket 1'54 is fixed to the bottom of the piston element so that it makes a Viiuid tightseal when seated on valve seat 156. An aperture 158V in the seal leads to connecting passageways 160, 162 which corn- `municate with upper pressure closing chamber 164. When the liquid is iiowing upwardly in conduit 166, the piston element or seal is raised from fthe valve seat and the liquid moves through passageways 166 into downow conduit 168. FIGURE illustrates the piston seal seated on the valve seat from a pressure buildup of liquid in chamber 164 after drain tube 170 is sealed by contact with plat- 'to a top wall and a bottom wall such as 177 of a float to frictionally hold a concentric tube 180 which freely slides on outer tube 32. A platform 178 isl fixed to the ltop of tube 180 and its position is set by raising or lowering tube 180. f

Another adjustable oat is shown in FIGURE ll, wherein a lower float portion Y182 may beadjustably engaged to upper portion 184 by threads 186. g The downtlow conduit is indicated in phantom outline.

FIGURE 12 .shows still another oat. Here a lower float portion 188 has an inner O-ring 190 and an outer Y f 4 O-ring 192 which form a sliding s eal with the inner wall 194 of ran upper float portion 196.

The use and operation of my invention are as follows:

Referring to the embodiment in FIGURES l, 3, 4 and 5 for example, in which thetank 10 has just been emptied by tripping handle 44..'and the water level is lowered. The -float 38-hasdescende'd a greater, or lesser amount. Then Vthe following action will occur. l

Water willv ow Vfrom inlet 14 upwardly in inner tube 30. The .diaphragm 86 will divert the 'bulk of the inowing water downwardly into passages 73, 73 and then into the annular passage formed between tubes 30 and l32. The downflowing water will then pass into the tank from the lower end of outer tube 32 which is so arranged as to be disposed below the water level in tank 10 at all times, thereby assuring silent lling.

The water divent'ed by Vdiaphragm 86 will seat the vacuum breaker 90 against the inclinedpuppersurface of base 66, as in FIGURE 5, thereby preventing passage of 4Vwater through passages 76; Y

That portion of the water which is not diverted downwardly by diaphragm 86 will pass through the center aperture 88 and into upper pressure chamber 82. There will be no pressure buildup in pressure chamber 82 tending to seat the diaphragm on the upper end of the inlet tube 30 however so long as drain tube 96, which is connected into'pressure chamber A82'by passages 92, 94 is open. I

Float '38 slides along tube 32 and moves up and down with the water level in the tank 10. When the float is in Vthe FIGUREr 4 position, that is when water reaches the level of FIGURE l and the drain tube 96 is closed, a pressure buildup occurs in' pressure chamber 82 and deflects the diaphragm downwardly, which eventually closes off pressure surface.

water flow altogether. The flow shut-oif-comes about as follows.

VThe lower side of the diaphragm may be viewed as the seating surface andthe Vupper side may be viewed as the Since the incoming liquid is moving through an apertureof reduced diameter, the downwardly actmgseating pressure on the pressure surface side will be less'than the upwardly acting unseating pressure on the seatlng surface side. The diaphragm will therefore move away from the valve seat 80 and permit a steady and rapid flow of liquid through the lower chamber'84, downwardly 1n the outer conduit, and into the receptacle below the liquid level; The rapid land continuous ilow will continue as long as the portion of the liquid transferred to the upper pressure closing chamber is bled from the' chamber or allowed rto escape as by drain passageways 92, 94 and drain tube 96.

When the float has been raised by the raising of the water level, the drain tube is sealed by the impingement of the seal 62 on the oat against the tube and the pressure differential will change. The accumulation of liquid in the upper chamber 86, actingover the entire surface area of the diaphragm, will developV a pressure which exceeds the pressure of the upflowing liquid which acts only against a portion of the lower surface area Aof the diaphragm. This differential will cause the diaphragm to be seated on the valve seat and stop the flow.

The diaphragm will remain on'the valve seat and the ow of liquid will be stopped so long as seal ring 62 or .slide valve 178 closes oi the drain tube 96. The water closet flush tank in this static condition is illustrated in FIGURE 1. 4When it is. desired to empty the flush tank, outlet port 54 is opened by actuating handle 44 and lift lever 48 which unseats ilush ball 46 by means of connectlng links 50, 51. The waterwill ow out of the receptacle andthe float 38 `will drop with `rthe decending level of water. Once the float moves away from the drain tube 96, the pressure in upper pressure chamber 82 will fall Y off, the seating surface of the diaphragmr will move away from the valve seat and water ow will commence through the tubes 30and l32. The float will rise with theliquid until drain tube 96 is closed, pressure buildup in chamber 82 occurs and the valve is closed.

The device incorporates a delayed action feature which raises the water level sufficiently to give the float more buoyancy or force and thus to close off the drain tube tightly. This is accomplished by the high deflection of the diaphragm 86 upwardly, as shown in FIGURE 5, and time is thus allowed for the pressure to buildup in chamber S2, thus deilecting the diaphragm downwardly to the seat to accomplish sealing. The sealing position is below a straight level line of the diaphragm.

The time required to accomplish this movement of the diaphragm gives sufficient delay in shutting off the water to give the oat added buoyancy yand thus to seal the drain tube off tightly.

One obvious change which can be made in the structure is an interchange of the diaphragm 134 and the piston 148. The structures of FIGURES 9 and 10, except for the details of the caps 132 and 15), is identical to accomplish a change from one to the other. All that is required is the removal for example of the cap 132 and the diaphragm 134 and the substitution for them of the cap 15@ and the piston 148.

In view of the obvious variations which are possible from the foregoing exemplary description, it is intended that the scope of this invention be measured not solely by the description but rather by the following claims as interpreted in the light of the prior art, having due regard to the doctrine of equivalents.

I claim:

1. A ball cock including a liquid tube assembly having an upflow conduit and a downflow conduit, means to admit liquid into the tube assembly, a oat movably associated with the tube assembly, a sealing surface carried by the iloat, a valve structure mounted on one end of the tube assembly, a pressure chamber and a flow chamber in the structure, an elastomeric diaphragm separating one chamber from the other chamber, a passageway of reduced diameter in the diaphragm connecting one chamber with the other chamber, communicating passageways between the flow chamber and the downllow conduit, a valve seat for the diaphragm associated with the upow conduit, some of the liquid from the upow conduit adapted to pass through the diaphragm passageway and into the pressure chamber, means to drain such liquid away from the pressure chamber, and the sealing surface of the oat adapted to close the drain means when liquid outside the tube assembly reaches a predetermined liquid level whereby yliquid within the pressure chamber accumulates and moves the diaphragm onto the valve seat thereby stopping upow liquid in the tube assembly.

2. A ball cock including a liquid tube assembly having an upflow conduit and a downilow conduit, means to admit liquid into the tube assembly, a float movably associated with the tube assembly, a sealing surface carried by the float, a valve structure mounted on one end of the tube assembly, a pressure chamber and a ow chamber in the structure, a rigid wall separating one chamber from the other chamber, said wall movable in fluid tight engagement within the structure in response to the pressure of owing liquid, a passageway of reduced diameter in the Wall connecting one chamber with the other chamber, communicating passageways between the fiow chamber and the downilow conduit, a valve seat for the wall associated with the upilow conduit some of the liquid from the upflow conduit being adapted to pass through the wall passageway into the pressure chamber, means to drain such liquid away from the pressure chamber and the sealing surface of the float adapted to close the drain means when liquid outside the tube assembly reaches a predetermined liquid level, whereby liquid within the pressure chamber accumulates and moves the wall onto the valve seat thereby stopping upilow liquid in the tube assembly.

3. A ball cock including a liquid tube assembly having an uplow conduit, a coaxial downow conduit around said upflow conduit, means to admit liquid into the tube assembly, an annular iloat coaxial with and telescoping said conduits for sliding movement along the length thereof, a sealing means carried by the float, a valve structure mounted on one end of the tube assembly, a pressure chamber `and a dow chamber in the structure, an elastomeric diaphragm separating one chamber from the other chamber, a passageway of reduced diameter in the diaphragm connecting one chamber with the other chamber, communicating passageways between the ow chamber and the downow conduit, a valve seat for the diaphragm associated with the upflow conduit, some of the liquid from the upflow conduit adapted to pass through the diaphragm passageway and into the pressure chamber, means to drain such liquid away from the pressure chamber, and the sealing means of the float adapted to close the drain means when liquid outside the tube assembly reaches a predetermined liquid level whereby liquid within the pressure chamber accumulates and moves the diaphragm onto the Valve seat thereby stopping upow liquid in the tube assembly.

4. A ball cock as in claim 3 further characterized in that the iloat sealing means is located on the upper portion of the oat.

5. A ball cock as in claim 3 further characterized in that said oat sealing means are positioned outside of the pressure chamber drain when in closing contact therewith.

6. A ball cock as in claim 3 further characterized in that said elastomeric diaphragm is biased to be normally flexed away from said valve seat.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,681,661 6/54 Sogn et al 137-414 XR 2,744,536 5/56 Buckner 137-432 XR 2,761,466 9/56 Buchanan 137-414 2,986,155 5/61 Doyle 137-414 XR 3,071,148 l/63 Woodmansee 137-195 XR FOREIGN PATENTS 657,554 2/ 63 Canada.

WILLIAM F. ODEA, Primary Examiner. 

1. A BALL COCK INCLUDING A LIQUID TUBE ASSEMBLY HAVING AN UPFLOW CONDUIT AND A DOWNFLOW CONDUIT, MEANS TO ADMIT LIQUID INTO THE TUBE ASSEMBLY, A FLOAT MOVABLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE TUBE ASSEMBLY, A SEALING SURFACE CARRIED BY THE FLOAT, A VALVE STRUCTURE MOUNTED ON ONE END OF THE TUBE ASSEMBLY, A PRESSURE CHAMBER AND A FLOW CHAMBER IN THE STRUCTURE, AN ELASTOMERIC DIAPHRAGM SEPARATING ONE CHAMBER FROM THE OTHER CHAMBER, A PASSAGEWAY OF REDUCED DIAMETER IN THE DIAPHRAGM CONNECTING ONE CHAMBER WITH THE OTHER CHMABER, COMMUNICATING PASSAGEWAYS BETWEEN THE FLOW CHAMBER AND THE DOWNFLOW CONDUIT, A VALVE SEAT FOR THE DIAPHRAGM ASSOCIATED WITH THE UPFLOW CONDUIT, SOME OF THE LIQUID FROM THE UPFLOW CONDUIT ADAPTED TO PASS THROUGH THE DIAPHRAGM PASSAGEWAY AND INTO THE PRESSURE CHAMBER, MEANS TO DRAIN SUCH LIQUID AWAY FROM THE PRESSURE CHAMBER, AND THE SEALING SURFACE OF THE FLOAT ADAPTED TO CLOSE THE DRAIN MEANS WHEN LIQUID OUTSIDE THE TUBE ASSEMBLY REACHES A PREDETERMINED LIQUID LEVEL WHEREBY LIQUID WITHIN THE PRESSURE CHAMBER ACCUMULATES AND MOVES THE DIAPHRAGM ONTO THE VALVE SEAT THEREBY STOPPING UPFLOW LIQUID IN THE TUBE ASSEMBLY. 